The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) hosted the two-day International Disaster Resilience Forum (IDRF) on 29-30 July 2021 to culminate the National Disaster Resilience Month. Experts from different countries shared their experiences and good practices in disaster resilience in the Zoom webinar, which was live streamed on Facebook. DOST Undersecretary and PHIVOLCS Officer-in-Charge, Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr., and DOST-PHIVOLCS Supervising Science Research Specialist Dr. Rhommel N. Grutas were among the invited speakers.
Following the opening remarks of President Rodrigo Duterte along with other key officials, Usec. Solidum commenced the first plenary session with a talk on “Applying Science and Technology in Decision Making.” The presentation tackled hydrometeorological and geophysical hazards, the urgency of climate change awareness, and disaster resilience strategies. Usec. Solidum detailed the functions of the GeoRiskPH online platforms, GeoMapperPH, HazardHunterPH, and GeoAnalyticsPH, to maximize the reach of hazards and risk assessment services. To wrap up, he emphasized that science, technology, innovation, and local knowledge are key to becoming a resilient community.
In the “Build Back Better Breakout Session,” Dr. Grutas discussed “Engineering Measures in Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery." He shared the lessons learned in past earthquakes, and underscored the importance of effective engineering methods by adhering to the National Building Code. Dr. Grutas also presented two of the latest earthquake engineering-related products that DOST-PHIVOLCS has developed: the Spectral Acceleration Map of the Philippines (SAMPH) Atlas and How Safe is My House? web-based and mobile apps. The SAMPH Atlas can be used by engineers and architects as a guide in designing and building earthquake-resilient structures by considering how buildings respond to ground shaking. Meanwhile, the How Safe is My House? app serves as a self-check for earthquake safety of 1-2 storey concrete hollow block structures such as residential houses. Dr. Grutas also discussed Earthquake Risk Modeling and Analysis which are used to analyze the impacts of an earthquake.
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